Going Down
by buttery power
Summary: As I stare across the blood-splattered field, i feel a deep sadness. I failed them. One chance to defeat that blasted monster, and i blew it. I gaze up at the spring sky as the Hands of Death slowly cover my eyes. I kiss the world goodbye. I am Going Down
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this is my very first story, so it's kinda short. If you don't even want me to bother with making a chapter 2, just tell me. But it will get better. Right now it's not very much like Percy Jackson and The Olympians, but it will soon. And her name is Dahlia, not Thalia. Kk, that is all. Bye!**

**Chapter 1**

**Going Down**

As I walk down the dark alley, I can't help but think this is the end. I'm lost. I'm scared. I'm cold. And I'm pretty sure the man stalking behind me isn't here for a friendly encounter. I look behind me. The tall man in the trench coat is breathing heavily. He has a hat that's shadow covers his face, and I have a feeling that if I did see his face, I'd be terrified. Because it's not like I'm already scared out of my mind. I make another turn down the alley and take this chance. I make one last chance to look behind me to make sure he hasn't turned the corner yet. I run. I run as fast as I possibly can.

Its dark, the only thing illuminating the street is the bright moon. I can barely see, so I'm unsure of where I'm going, but I don't care. I see a dumpster, with the lid on top wide open. I take my chances and jump into it. I close the lid and the smell inside my hiding place is unbearable. But I'd rather be in there than captured by the mysterious man. While I'm hiding, let me take this chance to introduce myself.

My name is Dahlia. I'm only 13 years old, so I'm quite young still. I have brown, curly hair, bluish eyes, and dorky glasses. Now I bet you've read other stories where the girl is breathtakingly beautiful and all the guys want her. Not with me. I've had boys straight out call me ugly before. But I don't care what they think, for I care only of what I think. I live in Berea, Kentucky; a small town where there is rarely any crime and everyone is as one: a big family. So you're probably thinking "Well why is there some creeper stalking her?" That's what I want to know.

Oh god. I hear footsteps. My heartbeat goes faster and faster, like a rabbit. I can hear his breathing and it sounds like he's hissing….? All of a sudden, the dumpster begins to rattle, and I'm as scared as heck. It rattles harder and harder and I begin to notice tears streaming down my face. I have a feeling they've been there this whole time. I hear a huge bang and the top of the dumpster breaks off of the hinges and I look up to see it fly to the right. I hear another loud bang and I then some brick pieces falling. Then there's a face. Right in front of my own and I don't even know what to make of it.

Half of his face was covered in hard, grey scales. His eyes were as black as onyx and he had a forked tongue sticking out of his mouth. I then begin to heavily sob, as the man grabs my body, and takes me away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I really hope this gets popular. I know it isn't the best, for this is my first time. Just be patient, things will get better, I promise!**

**Chapter 2**

**The End**

He had me in his arms, maiden style, and I was crying and screaming as loudly as a howler

monkey. Someone, anyone, must hear my call for help. "NO, NO! GET AWAY FROM ME,

PLEASE! PLEASE, NO!" I screamed.

"Shut up," he hissed.

"NEVER! I WILL NEVER! THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!" I whaled.

The man put a hand over my mouth and began to wickedly laugh. "You pathetic child! Is this

really the best the gods can do?" he exclaimed. What is he talking about? Whatever, I

have other things I should be concerned about. Like right now. I was kicking and trashing while

he began to sprint down the alley. The tears made my vision blurry, and my glasses were

covered in dirt. The mysterious man made a sharp left and stopped at an abandoned shack. He

dropped me on the ground and I hit my head. He put one foot on my stomach and pressed

down hard, making sure I had no way to get up. I put one hand up to my head. It felt warm and

wet and it throbbed. I took my hand away and held it up to the moonlight. It was covered in

blood, and felt very sticky. Meanwhile the man just stared at me. "What are you?" I whispered.

He looked up away from me and shot his hand out in front of him. I heard a crash and some

pieces of glass fell on my face and neck. It felt like little needles poking me, and I could tell

there was more blood. He picked me up and I could see he had broken a window. He just

threw me through the broken window and I fell on my arm. _Crack! _ "Ah! Oh my god!" I shouted.

Did I just break my arm? I've never broken a bone before, except for toes. Is this what it feels

like? I heard footsteps and the man kicked me over. I was still crying and I felt terrible. In other

stories you might hear of the victim sucking it up and stopping their crying. You might hear of

them finding strength and beating up the bad guy. Well this is real life. I looked over at my arm

and saw a white rod sticking out. "OH MY GOD! MY ARM! OH MY GOD!" I screamed in more

pain. The man took off his trench coat to reveal more scales all over his body. His eyes turned

from black to red. "WHAT ARE YOU?" I exclaimed.

"You know, it's my job to kill half-bloods like you," he began. "But I don't think you have half the guts to be one. You're so wimpy; I've had to put up real fights against other kids. Heh, not you. Not you…"

"What's…..half-blood….why….?" I whispered as I began to feel extremely drowsy. I started

to see darkness enclosing my vision. Why me? You always see this kind of stuff on the news and

think, 'Hey, that'll never be me. That can never happen to me.' I guess I was wrong. The man

began to walk towards me. His jaw unhinged and I noticed the tears had stopped. Guess I ran

out… I bet this is it. I always thought I would grow up to do great things, but my time has run

out. I wonder if people will miss me…? The darkness continued to cloud my vision and I passed

out with one final sigh.

**Was this one better? I hope so, and there will be a chapter 3. Do you like it? I hope so. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, I don't even know if anyone reads my stories… but whatever, I like to write.**

**Chapter 3**

**The Dream**

I was with my friends at the park. There was a warm glow around anything, and for a second, I thought

that this was real life. That I had never been…. Kidnapped? I don't know… But sadly, I could tell that this

was a dream. That my friends were just an illusion my mind had created. I was sitting on the emerald

green grass, and the sky was so clear…. I looked around and recognized my friends. There they were…

they seemed so real… I saw Lauren, Morgan, and Megan… Tiffany, Nick, and Ben… And so many others...

A tear fell from my eye, and it seemed so real… There were my friends, and I loved them… and they

loved me… We were all sitting together, and we were all laughing. We talked and talked with one

another. I was so happy. Joey, another friend, turned to me. "Why are you crying?" he asked

"Nothing, it's nothing," I stated. "I'm just happy to see you guys, and I'm gonna miss you all so much"

"What are you talking about?" asked Lauren.

"I-I just…. You see…" I stopped. Just then, the sky turned black. We all looked up to see many dark

clouds beginning to roll in. "That's strange," exclaimed Morgan.

"We're gonna have to leave," Ben sighed. "It'll probably rain."

"What a shame…." I whispered as another tear trickled down my check.

"Dahlia, what is up with you?" asked Nick. Everyone started to get up and pack up the stuff they had

brought. I looked around. Oh my god. Everything was turning black, pitch black. I turned around and

looked at the forest. I was horrified by what I saw. "MEGAN, LOOK OUT!" I screeched. But it was already

too late. Out from the woods a huge, death black hand reached out, and grabbed her. Megan screamed

and began to cry. So was I. "HELP ME, HELP!" she cried. "PLEASE HELP ME!" The hand squeezed her and

she melted into this silver goo. "MEGAN, NO!" I yelled. Then all of these black hands came up from

under the ground and started pulling my friends under. They all had these terrible, horrified looks on

their faces. Waterfalls, streaming from their eyes. "HELP US DAHLIA," they all shouted at once. "HELP

US…"

"NO!" I screamed. "NO, NO, NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! NO!"

"FIGHT FOR US, DAHLIA!" they screamed. "WE THOUGHT YOU LOVED US!"

"I DO, I DO!" I wailed. "I PROMISE I DO!" My knees buckled and I fell to the ground. The black hands

wrapped around them stopped, and stood still. All my friends stared at me, they still had this tormented

look on their faces. Is it over? Are they okay? I looked up and stared at each and every one of my

friends. "Are you guys okay?" I whispered. The hands immediately squeezed their bodies. They

screamed. I screamed. The deathly hands pulled them down into the ground. This was a terrible dream,

but it felt so real! I didn't even have time to say goodbye! I heavily sobbed and another hand came up

from the ground. It grabbed my body, and I almost wanted to be taken into the ground by these hands.

I wanted to see my friends… Snap out of it, Dahlia! This is a dream this is a dream! The hands squeezed

me tight and pulled me into the moist soil. 

I immediately woke up, though I kept my eyes closed. I

don't know what's going on. I felt all sweaty and gross… ew. My heart felt so empty, I just watched my

friends "die". I mean, I know they are all okay in real life, but still… Wait Dahlia,_ snap out of it! _ Okay.

Deep breaths. I need to focus on what is happening right now. I tried to sit up but I felt a hand on my

chest. It's the man! He's going to kill me! I opened my eyes and started throwing my hands

everywhere and kicking. "GET AWAY FROM ME YOU FILTHY ROTTEN _THING_!" I screeched. I felt the

hands push harder on my chest. "It's okay, I won't hurt you" a voice told me. "You're safe, I won't hurt you"

"I WILL NOT DIE! NOT TODAY, HO HO HO! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME AND LETS FIGHT FOR REAL! YOU…"

but I stopped immediately. I focused on my surroundings and felt kinda embarrassed. There was a light

with bugs swarming it directly above my head. I was on a hard floor, and I was covered in sweat, dirt,

blood, and some glass shards. I was surrounded by some kids who were about my age. I saw two girls

and a man. One of the girls had bleach blond hair and tan skin. She looked at me with concern and she

was holding a cool cloth on my forehead. The other girl had both hands on my chest holding me down.

She had a dirty t-shirt on and a green jacket. Her hair was spiky black and she looked at me like I was

some sort of creature. Then I looked at the man. I nearly had a heart attack because he was a….. But I'd

only heard of those things in books and….. He's a centaur. He had a white coat and a brown, scruffy

beard. "She looks like she belongs in the trash," said the girl with the black hair.

"Thalia!" lectured the man. "You know you shouldn't say that, and she's awake too! She heard you" You

bet I did. "Thalia, is that really necessary?" the blonde asked. She looked at me. "It's okay, your safe."

I looked at everyone one more time and passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow! This story has gotten no reviews! Whatever, I really don't care. Bye bye! Things are getting WAY better, so keep reading!**

**Chapter 4**

**My Explanation from an Idiot**

My eyes fluttered open again and the two girls and the….centaur were gone. I wasn't on the cold, hard floor. I was in a soft bed and I felt _good. _I looked at my arm and it looked totally normal, like by bone never punctured through the skin. I reached up to my head. There was no gash, no warm, sticky blood. It felt fine, like I never hit it. I started feeling all over my body; the glass shards in my neck were gone. My glasses were gone though, and I looked on the nightstand. They were right there, completely clean. I picked them up and put them on. I stopped and thought for a moment. I've been thinking this question a lot but, was that all a dream? No. It wasn't. I need to accept it. Look around yourself.

I rested my head to the right. I must've been on the top floor of this building, because I saw an excellent view of everything. I stared out the window and saw rolling hills and strawberry patches for miles. Off in the distance I saw a hill, the biggest one of them all. There was a pine tree that seemed to glitter in the sun. I looked at the other trees, colors of golds, browns, and purples. I remembered that Halloween was just a week away. I remembered I was going to be Luna Lovegood, from Harry Potter. I began to laugh at myself then stared into the distance again. The blue sky was so clear and lovely…. I sighed as I flipped my head back up and stared at the ceiling fan.

I thought for a little bit. _"Where am I?"_ and _"What is going on?"_ and plenty of other questions swam in my mind. I nearly jumped out of the bed when I heard footsteps on stairs. I heard someone grip the doorknob but stop. Then very slowly and gently, someone opened the door and peeked inside. It was some dude with short, black hair and brown eyes. The boy looked like he was my age too. He seemed very tense and looked around the room. His eyes then fell on me and he relaxed. The boy swung the door open and it hit the wall with a loud thud. I winced as the loud noise was so sudden, and gave my head a brief, sharp pain.

"Sorry," the boy laughed as he came over and sat right next to me on the bed. I noticed he was holding something but his hands covered it. He was facing me on the bed when tried to shove the object in my hand. I could then see in was a little plate with what looked like two gold brownies on it. I stared at him while he continued to attempt to put the object in my hand, though it in a fist.

"What are you doing?" I said in an annoyed fashion. He stared at me and it looked like he was trying not to laugh. "I'm trying to give you some food," he began. "But you don't seem as though you want it." He started cracking up a lot.

"You're kidding me, right?" I shot at him. He stopped and looked at me in wonder.

"Oh, I get it! You can't use your hands!" he said, setting the plate on my stomach. I could tell this boy wasn't dumb; he was just messing with me. I narrowed my eyes and he just looked at me like I was the one acting like an idiot.

"Well, let me get up then," I mumbled. He laughed again and took the plate off of my stomach and waited for me to sit up. "Okay, _now_ you can give it to me," I informed him.

"Are you sure?" he asked with worry in his voice. "I can feed it to you."

"Just give me the bloody thing." I barely knew this boy and he was getting on my nerves, though the way he was acting, it was kind of funny. He handed me the plate, making a big deal out of it. I took one of the golden brownies and lifted it up to my mouth. Then I stopped and lowered my hand a little bit, realizing I didn't even know what this food was.

"I apologize sir," I said politely, but in a sarcastic voice. "But what exactly is this? How do I know it isn't poison that snaky dude told you to give it to me?" I stopped and I got a little worried by the boy's expression. His face went extremely pale very fast and he looked like a statue, for he was extremely still. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly. The color came back to his face and he looked like he was about to speak. But he stopped, and closed his mouth, staring at the floor. He slowly put his head up and he looked normal again. "First of all," he began in a proper voice, like nothing had happened. Oh god. "That _stuff_ I just gave you is ambrosia, the food of the gods. It will make you feel better!"

"Okay, this is the second time I've heard of the go-" But the boy grabbed the hand that I was holding the "ambrosia" with and shoved the food in my mouth. "Now now, it's rude to interrupt!" he exclaimed. It tasted really good, but I started to choke on the food but he just kept talking. "Secondly, I'm am not working with that-" he then stopped and recollected himself. "Snaky dude. He is an enemy the gods have been hunting down for centuries. You're lucky Lord Poseidon was in your town, for he loves Kentucky. No wonder he likes it so much, what with all the horses and stuff." Poseidon? This time I didn't even bother asking about the gods, but I would find out sooner or later. "Okay, I've got a couple questions for you," I said, my voice shaking. I was still a little shocked about what was going on.

"Eat more first," he demanded. "You still have some internal injuries." I narrowed my eyes at him again and he narrowed his eyes at me. I won that staring match and he started cracking up again. "My god you are such a doofus!" I laughed. It felt like the first time I had in a while, even though I've been gone for… I stopped laughing and he immediately stopped.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I really want to ask some questions, I'm really confused. I am actually a little confused by myself too. I'm sitting here acting like everything's okay, but really nothing is…"

"You can ask some questions. But believe me, everything is okay. I felt the way you did when I first came here. Which you probably don't understand what I'm talking about….But for every question you ask….I get a question?"

"Fine, what's your name?"

"Jacen… What's your name?"

"Dahlia. Where am I?"

"Camp half-blood. Where in Kentucky did you live?"

"Berea. What in bloody heck is camp half-blood?"

"A summer or year-long camp for demi-gods, like us. Do you have any siblings?"

"No. Again, what in bloody heck is a demi-god?"

"A child of a mortal and a god"

"What do you mean by a god?"

"Hey I didn't get ask a question! Do you have friends?" My heart immediately felt empty as I remembered the dream. I thought of their screams, telling me that I didn't love them. But I did… I collected myself, and then answered. "I have many, great friends," I whispered. "I love them so much, for they make me so happy. And I know they love me." Jacen had a soft look on his face, like he understood how important they were to me. "Not many kids at school like me," I started again. "But my friends from swim club… they make me feel loved. I know that they truly like me. That they want to be my friend." I looked at Jacen again and he smiled at me. "I can tell just by the look in your eyes… you do love them," Jacen said quietly. I looked out the window and gazed at the blue sky once again. I do that a lot when I think. I was startled when I felt something on my cheek. My head snapped around and I saw Jacen with his hand recoiled, it was slightly wet.

"I'm sorry. You were crying," he whispered.

"It's okay, I don't really mind. So… can you answer my question now?"

"Sure," he said smirking. "When I say a god, I mean the greek gods. I know you've only read of them in books I bet, but they are real."

"So… Athena, Zeus, Artemis…. Poseidon, they're all real?"

"You bet!"

"Wait… my mother told me that my father died in a car accident!"

"No, the gods are immortal. Your father is alive, but we don't know who he is. He hasn't left a sign."

"A sign?"

"When he wants to claim you as your daughter, he will send a sign. You will know it's happening when it is."

"Oh… I'm sorry this is a lot to take in."

"That's okay. I felt exactly the way you did when I first came here."

"So who was that centaur guy?" I asked. Jacen laughed and I smiled.

"That centaur guy was Chiron. One of the two camp directors."

"Who's the other one?"

"Lord Dionysus"

"That grape guy?"

"Yeah."

"And he's a god?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Wow." I stopped and smacked my hand to my forehead. This was all giving me a headache. "So what happens now?" I asked. "Will I see my mother again? My friends?"

"Well eventually. You will either stay here for the summer or year-long."

"Do I have to stay?"

"Do you want to die?" He asked, obviously knowing the answer.

"No, of course not!" I responded.

"Then yes, you must stay here."

"Okay then… Who's your parent?"

"Athena"

"Cool."

"Yeah, it is pretty cool. Want to know what would be cooler?" Jacen said leaning in towards me.

"Tell me."

"If you were my sister!" he said sarcastically.

"Wow Jacen, you're so idiotic!" I said laughing. He chuckled too and looked at me seriously.

"When Lord Poseidon brought you here, you were knocked out. When we took you inside and were trying to revive you, you looked like you were having a bad dream… Were you?" I was a little caught off guard by his question.

"Yes, I was having a bad dream."

"…What was it about?" I hesitated a little bit. I didn't really want to talk about it. But I felt like I needed to get it out. I turned to him and I told him what had happened. His face seemed pale and cold. "I was afraid so…" he mumbled.

"What?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Did you wake up when you were on the floor?"

"Yes, but I don't remember seeing you." I would've remembered a face like that.

"I was getting medical supplies for you."

"Oh… thanks then."

"Yeah, it's nothing… Would you like to see the camp?" he asked suddenly. I froze and thought for a little bit. I decided that I could trust him, though I don't know why. "Sure," I said shakily.

"Okay then! Let's go!" he yelled enthusiastically. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the bed. I almost fell, but I regained my balance. "You okay?" he laughed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You laugh a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I do… let's go now!" He yelled again. He pulled me down the stairs and was about to open the front door. I didn't even get to observe the rest of the house when he opened the door and shoved me outside. I was on a porch and was looking behind me to see back into the house. But Jacen was in the doorway and slammed the door shut. He grabbed my shoulders and looked at me seriously. "I can be your friend too, you know." And with that he spun me around and I looked at the scenery before me. Holy crap, what is this place?


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh my god, I got my first review! Thank you to "TheGreekGoddessAphrodite" for giving me that first review! It means so much to me! Here's chapter 5!**

**Chapter 5**

**Camp Half-Blood**

I couldn't believe my eyes. Most of things I see… I've only heard of them in fairy tales. I must've been on the other side of the house, because everything was different that from what I had seen through the window upstairs. _Way_ different.

The land scape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture you'd find in a history book. They looked like they had just been built, the marble glittering in the sun. There was an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena, stables, and so much more that my mind couldn't process it. There was a volleyball pit where some other kids played a game. I think some of them were satyrs, those half human, half goat people. They were all wearing bright orange t-shirts. I turned to look at Jacen and sure enough, he was wearing one too. It said "Camp Half-Blood" and there was a picture of the silhouette of a Pegasus. I turned around because I wanted to see more, for I wasn't even close to finished.

There were canoes gliding across a sparkling lake, and some kids were swimming too. More kids in the orange t-shirts were running around by some cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot arrows at archery rang a little bit deeper in the woods. They were so deep that all I saw were little flames shooting in different directions. The arrows must've been on fire. Then there were even more kids riding on horses down a path that wound through the camp. If I am correct, some of them had wings.

I walked down the steps of the porch and looked at the house. It actually had four flours and had a porch that wound around it. I walked over to the right to see what was behind the house, and sure enough, there were tons of strawberry fields. I saw some kids and satyrs with flutes walking up and down the rows of strawberries. It looked like the plants were dancing almost. I walked back on the porch and looked at Jacen. He had a look on his face like he was enjoying himself by watching my amazement of everything.

"So…. Do you like it?" he asked.

"What do you think?" I said, almost laughing.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Ugh, yeah!"

"We need to find Chiron, he must know you have awoken. But after that, I'll show you the rest of the camp."

"Okay, then." Jacen walked in front of me and started heading down the steps while I followed him.

"Well then, let's go!" he said enthusiastically as he made a big gesture over his head with his arm. It reminded me of Dora the Explorer….don't ask. I stared at him with a wierded out look on my face. Jacen looked at me with a slightly embarrassed expression. "That was really strange, wasn't it?" he asked quietly. "Just a bit, just a bit," I replied awkwardly. We walked towards the stables while I looked at astonishment at everything. It was all so big! Meanwhile Jacen talked about different buildings as we passed them, although he couldn't resist but to crack about twenty jokes along the way.

Finally we reached the stables and it smelled like horse manure and molding hay…. I loved it. It reminded me so much of Berea, Kentucky that I felt like I was back at home. We walked down a long line of horse stalls and I loved it so much. Jacen ran up to that centaur guy, um, his name was Chiron I think. He talked to him, pointing to me while I was petting one of the horses. It was a bay Arabian and he was beautiful. I looked at the name tag on the door of the stall. Engraved in a name tag, it said his name was Ricky. "Dahlia," said a husky voice. I turned to the voice and saw the centaur towering over me. He stared at me with piercing eyes.

I was a bit startled but I stared back with confidence. "Welcome to camp half-blood, child!" he exclaimed with a smile on his face. "Here at camp half-blood, you'll be safe and never in danger… well, much danger anyway."

"Sir, may I show Dahlia around camp?" Jacen asked. "I will get her supplies at the camp store and make sure she finds her way to her cabin."

"Sure, Jacen. Just make sure none of the other kids interrogate her too much. Especially Percy, he's been extremely antsy ever since he heard of Poseidon bringing miss Dahlia here. I think he's upset he didn't get to talk to his father….. anyway, off you go you two!" Chiron then turned and walked to one of the other horses in a stall. He started talking to the other horse like it they were having a conversation. I then was startled when I felt something nudge my head. I turned to see Ricky right in front of my face. I stroked his neck, and we stared into each other's eyes. "You're a nice horse Ricky," I whispered, not wanting Jacen to hear me. He'd probably thing I was a weirdo. "You ready to go?" Jacen asked. I turned to him and he must've seen the brief worry on my face. "Oh, we can stay, that's no problem!"

"Oh, no, it's okay. We can leave. Just… are campers allowed to come here whenever they want?" I asked timidly. A broad grin came onto Jacen's face. "Of course Dahlia, if you want to come back, you can come back."

"Okay, then! I'm good now!" I felt another nudge on my face. I turned again to see Ricky and he was a little restless. "It's okay, Ricky, I'll come back later. I promise," I whispered again as I gave him one last pat on the head and started to walk away, out of the stables while Jacen walked beside me. I stopped walking and Jacen stopped too, giving me a puzzled look. A grin crept across my face and I took a couple steps and stood directly in front of Jacen. "What is it?" he asked smiling now too.

"Guess who I am?" I said enthusiastically. I turned around and put my hand in the air. "Leeeeeeeeetsssss goooooooooooo!" I yelled while beckoning my hand forward just like he did earlier. I then began walking.

"Wow Dahlia, and you say I'm idiotic!" Jacen laughed hysterically coming up behind me.

"I wouldn't be talking, you're the one who did it in the first place!" I laughed alongside him. We walked down the grass and talked a little bit. I only knew Jacen for about an hour, and he was really fun! I couldn't believe I might've actually made a friend. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"-so that's why you never leave your cabin after eight, unless there's an event happening," Jacen said.

"Are you serious?" I asked in astonishment.

"Yep, unless you want to be ki- Aaaaaahhh!" I turned to Jacen and saw a blond girl his back, knocking him down to the ground. Please don't be his girlfriend….

"Annabeth! Why'd you do that?" Jacen yelled.

"Sorry bro!" she exclaimed. Thank god. Or… _gods_ I guess. "But you're probably annoying the heck out of this girl! I just _have_ to help a fellow camper in need!"

"I wasn't annoying her!" Then he looked up from the ground and gave me a worried look. "Was I annoying you?" he asked, and I could tell he was a little scared of what my answer might be.

"No," I laughed. This Annabeth girl was pretty funny. She got up and looked at me. "Welcome to camp half-blood!" she said putting her hand out. "Are you feeling better? I was worried about you, you were screaming in your sleep!" So she's the blondie I saw last night!

"Yes, I feel much better now, thank you for asking," I replied putting my hand out and we both shook hands. "I remember seeing you last night, and you were with Chiron and that girl with the spiky black hair!"

"Yep, that was me! And…did you hear her little comment…..?"

"Yes, and I believe it or not, but I can clean up quite nicely."

"I can tell! You look very nice!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, why thank you!" I said in a proper voice. Just then, a boy with black hair and sea-green eyes came bolting down the hill. He ran up behind Annabeth and hugged her around the waist. "Aaah! Percy!" she giggled. "Why'd you leave me?" he whined, burying his face in her shoulder. "Sorry, I just _had_ to save our new camper here. Jacen must've been boring her to death." Percy looked up at me from Annabeth's shoulder and looked at me. He untangled himself from her. "Percy, this is Dahlia, Dahlia this is Percy, my boyfriend!" Annabeth announced. "Nice to meet you Percy!" I said, putting my hand out so that we could shake hands. But Percy just stared at me. "You're the girl who was brought here a couple days ago…" Percy whispered. "Did he say anything to you? Did my father say anything to you? When did he leave the camp?"

"I apologize Percy, but I don't remember a thing."

"What? You have to! Just try to remember! Anything!"

"I'm really sorry but I don't remember anything at all. I was totally knocked out!"

"She was Percy," Jacen said. "She was out cold for _three days_; she's not going to remember anything!"

"No!" Percy yelled, tears streaming from his eyes. "He had to say something! A message or anything! Why wouldn't he come and see me!" Percy started walking towards me, yelling in my face.

"Percy, calm down, it's okay!" Annabeth said, placing a hand on Percy's shoulder. "You need to settle down, you can't blame her! Remember when you first came here Percy? When you couldn't remember much? Just give her some time!"

Percy stormed off towards the hill and disappeared, still sobbing. Annabeth turned to me, with concern in her eyes. "I'm really sorry about that, he's never like that I promise! I've never seen him like this before… He's not mad at you or anything, he's just upset with his father!"

"It's okay, I understand." I said quietly. I actually felt really scared, I was shaking. Jacen put a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay Dahlia, normally Percy is fun and cool, I don't know what's up with him," he said.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Annabeth informed us.

"Okay, just be careful," Jacen warned.

"Got it!" Annabeth was already halfway up the hill when, just like Percy, she disappeared out of sight. Jacen turned and smiled weakly at me. "Well it's not even lunchtime and you've already had an interesting day, haven't you?"

"You bet." We then turned and walked to the camp store. Hopefully we won't encounter stranger situations on the way there. But I have a feeling that at camp half-blood, everything moment will be a surprise.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, sorry it's been longer than usual since I update chapters. Hope this chapter is good, and hope you haven't lost interest. Bye! Oh, and my new username is MemberoftheHunt.**

**Chapter 6**

Jacen and I strolled toward a small building with a sign on the door that said "Camp Store". We walked in and Jacen went up to the girl behind the counter who had brown hair in nasty looking braids. I just stood to the side, not sure what to do with myself. "Clarisse, I need a…" Jacen started, but then turned to me. He looked at me but then instantly looked back to Clarisse like he had quickly made up his mind about something. "I need a size small-" Heh heh. "-camp T-shirt with a sleeping bag, backpack, toiletries, you know what."

"Oh, do we have a new camper, now?" Clarisse sneered. She turned to me and looked me up and down. "Hmm… Well she won't be an Ares, that's for sure. She's too lean and whimpy looking. Bet she don't got any muscle." Oh yeah, sure, I don't have muscle. I'm on the freaking swim team and I'm one of the best ones there. "Don't say that, she does have muscle. I'm the one who carried her to the big house and she was wearing a t-shirt. She's got muscle."

"Yeah, okay then, sure." Clarisse retorted. She turned to me. "Take off your sweatshirt."

"What?" I asked, a little startled by her question.

"I wanna see if you actually have muscle!"

"I'm really sorry, but are we seriously arguing about this?"

"Do it."

"Okay, Clarisse," Jacen interrupted. "Just get her the supplies. You'll see it sooner or later, just be patient."

"Jacen!" I exclaimed, horrified by this entire situation. "What in the world, why are you two even caring about this! This is kinda ridiculous!" Jacen looked at me like I was stupid. "Well," he began. "You probably aren't in the Ares cabin, since you're too nice and I can't see you being aggressive and beating up a poor old satyr. The other cabins want to make a point that Ares isn't the only strong, tough cabin."

"Watch that plan go down the toilet," Clarisse muttered. She was carrying the supplies and was holding it out expectantly to Jacen. I got up from the chair and took the supplies from him while he paid Clarisse. He had taken out little gold coins, which I had never seen before. I couldn't see what was inscribed into them, but it looked like there was a tall building on one of the sides. We began to walk out, Jacen mumbling words of hatred towards Clarisse. "Bye, newbie. Have a good time!" She called sarcastically. As soon we got out of sight from the camp store Jacen grabbed the supplies from my hands and threw it to the ground and took a stick. What in the world. He saw my expression and straightened up. "Sorry about that, but Clarisse tends to hide stink bombs and other _fun_ surprises in the new campers' bags."

"It's okay," I said, still confused. Jacen took the stick and began to poke around my stuff with it. He separated everything and began to investigate. He began to flip my shirt around and tried to get it to go inside out. Inside my shirt, there was this bluish paste that was spread all over it. "My gods, Clarisse," Jacen whispered in horror. He flipped my shirt to the side, away from everything else. He then investigated the sleeping bag with extreme caution. Barely touching the zipper, he pulled it down about halfway when millions of tiny spiders began to crawl out and scurry across the grass, away from us. Jacen jumped up with a small yelp and backed as far away as he could from the spiders. He waited until they were out of sight and slowly inched toward the sleeping bag. He took the stick, which was shaking in his hands and flipped it over a couple of times. Nothing came out, so Jacen muttered some intelligent words and kicked the sleeping bag onto the shirt.

"Okay, what's up with that?" I asked, scared what he would find next. "Okay," Jacen sighed, turning to me. "Clarisse does this every time a new camper comes, but this is the worse she's ever done. That blue paste on the inside of your shirt is something we use against monsters. We can put it on our swords to enhance the damage each blow gives. If you were to put on that shirt, you would've felt like you were burning to death. The spiders-" Jacen shuddered at the thought. "- are poisonous. If one were to bite you, it could've been fatal." I felt a little scared, but shrugged it off.

"Are you…" I said, trying not to laugh. "Afraid of spiders?"

"Very, very much. All children of Athena are. Ever since that Arachne incident, oooh. It's been bad. Really, really bad." He turned back and looked at my things with disgust. "I'm not even going to bother investigating this stuff. Gods knows what she did with the rest of it. Don't worry; I'll get you new supplies that haven't been….tampered with." Jacen smiled at the last part. "While I get you new supplies, I need to find someone that can get you to your cabin and such…" He looked around until he saw a camper who was already walking in their relative direction. "Grover!" Jacen exclaimed. "Can you show Dahlia her cabin and get her fitted with a weapon?" Once I got a full look of Grover, I was astounded. I saw those satyrs at the volleyball pits earlier, but seeing one up close was…. a little intimidating. I better not walk up behind him; he might kick me on accident…..

"Sure, but I gotta hurry," he said hastily. "I'm going on a date with Juniper in an hour, and I've still gotta get ready, too."

"That's fine; just make sure the other kids don't eat her. She's been getting some…. Unwanted attention."

"Okay, okay, but let's get going!" Grover grabbed my hand and began to trot towards the cabins nestled in the woods.

"Bye Dahlia!" Jacen yelled, waving with a smile on his face. We were already going over a hill and nearly tripped, I was so startled by his sudden goodbye. I turned around and it looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"Bye Jacen!" I called back with a weak smile, for I was slightly embarrassed.

Going down that hill was scary as heck. Or should I say: "Going down that hill was scary as hades." Once we got down the hill I was so surprised by what I saw. From the house it looked like regular old camp cabins, but painted different colors. Well I was wrong. Each cabin was each unique and amazing. They were in a U shape and had numbers on each cabin, odd numbers on one side, even on the other. Lowest numbers were at the middle of the base of the U. There were twelve cabins, one had great greek architecture, another looked just like a regular old cabin. One had peacock feathers on the door; another had coral around the base that was glittering in the sun.

I was looking at all of the cabins when I saw one that I instantly knew was my favorite. It was silver and had a buck's antlers above the door, with pictures of trees, leaves, moose, deer, and other wild animals engraved in wood around the base of the cabin. On the door there was a small crack where in the center of it, there was a golden arrow. The golden arrow held up a sign that read "NO BOYS". I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it. I wonder which cabin that was…. I started to go through the gods in my head and finally figured it out. Artemis. Goddess of the hunt, moon, and fertility. Forever a maiden. Forever…twelve. And the cabin wasn't for her children, for she had none. It was for her huntresses. How I wish I could be one of them…. I dream of it all the time. Me running through the woods, with a bunch of girl's my age. Packing with animals and hunting monsters. A never ending camping experience. Amazing. A-ma-zing. Amazing.

I must've been staring at the cabin for quite a while because Grover began shaking my shoulder. "Dahlia. I'm sorry I know Lady Artemis truly is mystical," he said dreamily. Then his thoughts came back to reality. "But if we leave now, we can have thirty minutes to suit you with armor. Then I can get ready for my-" but Grover stopped, as if trying to make himself say the word. "_date_," He pushed the word out, grinning in success at himself. I giggled to myself then made myself get my act together. "Okay, that's fine, let's go." We walked into the woods for quite a while until we found a large arena, and I wondered to myself if I could see it if I stood on top of the Big House's roof and find it in the trees.

We walked in and I was in wonder. It looked like a football field, but five times the size and width and made of sand. Sort of. There were spectator seats and the set up was just like a football field. As soon as the seats ended, there would be what looked like a large track around the inside perimeter and there was a start/finish line. Then, in the very center of this whole mess, was a little fighting ring, with a fence around it that was lined with carts of weapons.

We began rifling through the carts and I tried out swords. All of them were too heavy or too light and just when I found the right one… Long story short, we both learned that swords are not my forte. We went through the daggers and I was okay at it. Then we went through spears and I pretty good and targeting. But then, there were the bows and arrows. I was most excited to do these. Grover set up a target and I began to test it out. The first time I shot, I totally missed. But after a while I started to get the hang of it. I got closer and closer to the bulls-eye, and I was getting giddy. I turned to Grover, having run out of arrows.

"This is it. This is my weapon of choice." I found an arrow on the ground that I must've dropped and got into position to shoot it. Just as I was about to let go, I had a strange, flash of a vision. I saw a girl about my age in the exact position as me. Her auburn hair was cascading down her back and she looked magnificent. Her eyes were a piercing color of the moon, it was startling. She wore a greek tunic and a circlet of flowers around her head. Where her bow was, directly behind it, in the exact shape, was a crescent moon. Then another flash came and I suddenly let go of the arrow. It shot forward and I hit a bulls-eye. "Amazing," I whispered in wonder.

**Hey guys, I'm sorry this one took sooo long. I had a lot of stuff happening on the weekend and yesterday was Halloween so… ya. Hope you all liked this chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I'm hoping my story isn't getting too boring, but things are about to get interesting. I think people are finally starting to notice my story, so things are getting better… Anyway, I am so sorry this took so long. I have been super busy with school, swimming, family, and other things too crazy to mention. But I'll try and make this good.**

**Chapter 7**

**BANANA**

I stare at the target in wonder. Did I really just do that? I fell to the ground, shaken by the sudden vision. "Are you okay Dahlia?" Grover yelped, rushing over to help me back up. "Yeah, I just…. Do demi-gods get visions?" I asked wearily. Grover smiled and it instantly took away my fear. "You bet, they get them all the time! Did your vision involve any danger or violence?"

"No, it was just really sudden and it went away really fast. I don't know what it means."

"Well, what was it about? Maybe I could help you!" he said excitedly, like he always wants a shot to do something good. I told him about my flash of a vision and he had a surprised look on his face. "Wow, Dahlia! This hasn't happened for centuries! Your vision was an image of Lady Artemis, you know her right?"

"Yes, of course I do! We studied about greek gods at my school."

"Well, the fact that you saw her image means that you two might cross paths very soon. I don't know much about images, for they are very rare. Most demigods just have disturbing visions of their teammates being mauled by monsters, or creepy voices telling you disturbing information from the pits of Tarturas..." Grover seemed a little shaken by that last sentence, like he knew about those kinds of visions all too well. "C'mon, we should probably head back to the main cabins so I can show you where yours is."

"Oh, okay," I said, trying to act calm. But on the inside I was dying to see which cabin was the Hermes cabin. Jacen had told me about it. I slung the bow and a full set of arrows and we walked back to the cabins. The wind rustled the autumn leaves and a shiver went up my spine. Once we got back I began to study each one, trying to guess which one might be his. But half-way through looking, I was staring at other cabins, mesmerized by the intricate details on them. "So you see that cabin over there?" Grover asked, pointing to the one that looked like a regular old cabin you would see at camp. It had a lovely little porch with an overhang and it looked very woodsy. "It's that one right….there," Grover said, spinning me so that I was directly facing the cabin. "It's okay Grover, I see it!" I laughed.

"Jacen will be here in just a second with your things, so just stay here! I gotta get ready for my…._date_." Grover yet again seemed to push the word out like he couldn't believe he was saying it.

"That's fine, go ahead. I'll see you later Grover!"

"Bye!" he yells, already running back into the woods. I begin to walk around the perimeter of the cabins. I love to just stare at each one, and each time, I find something new. I always end up staring at one for, like, ten minutes. It's crazy to say it's kind of fun staring at them. "Dahlia!" I hear Jacen yell. I'm standing in front of what looks like the Hera cabin, when I turn around to see Jacen running towards me with a bunch of supplies in his hands.

"Here, let me help you!" I insist, taking the backpack and t-shirt.

"So, which weapon did you find?"

"Oh! I got a bow and arrow; turns out I'm really good at it."

"Cool! Let's find you a spot in your cabin." I nod at him and we stroll up to the cabin. I put my hand on the doorknob, excited to see the inside. I open the door and I am amazed. It looks like one of the camp cabins I used to go to. It's packed with kids who are hanging out. There are six bunk beds, three on each side of the cabin. Then the floor is covered with sleeping bags, books, toys, and other stuff. There are some kids crammed on the top bunk of a bed playing cards. Kids are playing with mini fireworks. Others are jumping from one bed to the other. A girl walks to the center of the room and opens her mouth. This should be good.

"BANANA!" she screams and the whole room goes silent, and lay on the ground or a bed. They then put their hands in a streamline position and lift their legs off the ground, somewhat resembling a banana. What the heck? "Split," she whispers and everyone begins talking again, sitting back up and resuming their previous actions. I give Jacen one of my best '_What in the world?_' looks and he just shruggs, trying not to scream in laughter. "Okay," Jacen says walking over to a small little corner where there is an empty space.

"This is your spot, I made sure you weren't surrounded by… total thieves." He grimaces, looking at the girls around my little spot who were pretending to be insulted by the comment. It was pretty funny. There are a couple of the girls, all of them on a huge blanket with magazines, candy, and cards sprawled across it. Gambling for junk. Gotta love it.

There's a girl with ivory skin, but her red hair that seems to flicker like flames and brown eyes light her up. Her freckles dance on her cheeks. She has a fun attitude and I hear her cracking hilarious jokes. She takes out a rubber band and begins to strum it, making upbeat pop music with that stretchy thing of cheap rubber. I am amazed. Another girl, with lovely caramel skin and warm brownie eyes takes out a giant paper clip and begins to bend it, until she makes a butterfly. When she smiles at her work, the whole room seems to light up. She looks very pretty, even though her hands are covered in burns and scratches. They cover her arms too, and I even see a coal smear on her forehead. Then there are two blondes, probably twins for their features are very similar. They both have icy blue eyes and one of them has rectangular blue glasses. The girl with the glasses is drawing a picture of a forest, with beautiful snowflakes falling everywhere. The other is eating grapes, staring at her cards in determination, then throwing them down in satisfaction. "Four kings! This is surely a win!" she exclaims in victory. The girls look up at her in disbelief and look at their own cards. "Hmm," murmurs the girl with glasses. "Actually, Gene, I beg to differ." With that she throws her cards to reveal four aces. The other girls groan and I chuckle.

"Here, take your prizes, Chione," Gene mutters.

"Oh, I don't want that junk, you guys keep it. You know what I want," Chione states. The other two girls begin to eagerly divide the items, fighting over a candy bar or two.

"What could you possibly have that we have?" Gene asks, clearly annoyed by her defeat.

"_You_ have what I want."

"I don't have anything of yours!"

"My book."

"What?"

"My. Book."

"Oh gods…" Gene sighs. She digs through her bag and takes out the book. Chione grabs it and immediately flips to a page and begins to read. I totally respect that.

I realize I've been listening them for quite a while and turn to see Jacen doing the same thing. We both exchange looks and he lies my sleeping back out and we throw my stuff onto it. "Well, that's about it. You'll stay here until your parent claims you, so make friends. Not like you don't have any," he smiled, winking. What a doofus. "I'll see you at lunch! And if you're not in one piece, don't worry. I'll beat up the bullies!" He says putting his arms up and flexing in a super-hero fashion. Again, the same word flashes across my mind. "You doofus," I mutter, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Hahahaha!" he laughs, probably for the billionth time today. The world isn't that funny, you know? "So you have everything you need? You need me to show you around anywhere else?" He asks sincerely. "If you need anything just-"

"Oh shut it, Jacen!" The girl with red hair sputters, exasperated. She's looking up with an expression on her face like she's really sick of hearing him talk. "I've seen you following her all day, and I've heard you telling her about the silliest things! Give her some space!" she scolds.

"Well, believe it or not, Dahlia likes my company!" Jacen says matter-of-factly.

"When pigs fly," Gene mutters.

"Actually," says a boy with shaggy brown hair who comes up from behind and leans on Jacen. Then another who looks exactly like him appears from the other side. Probably brothers, I bet. "That can be arranged!" he says excitedly, completing his brother's sentence. "Thanks Conner," Jacen sighs. "Travis. But I'm just gonna get ready for lunch. Bye Dahlia." He waves, walking to the door with his head down. "Bye Jacen," I call after him.

"Dahlia, huh?" says Conner.

"Lovely name, really," states Travis. The two brothers stand there trying to find out what my name could rhyme with when the red-head shoots them a death glare. They both straighten up and just walk away, but not before throwing a firecracker at us. I sit down on my sleeping bag and stare out the window, admiring the sky while brushing debris from my shirt. The girl with black hair then turns to me, "My name is Rose! How are you?" she asks.

"Lovely, thank you," I say.

"So. _Dahlia_. Jacen isn't annoying you, is he?"

"Just a little bit…"

"It's okay; I think he just likes you. That's all," she giggles.

"If you need someone to… take care of him… Sam's your girl," says Gene, pointing to the red headed girl.

"You know it!" Sam excitedly exclaims. Everyone laughs, even me.

"Here," says Rose. "You can have this, I've made countless others." She hands me the butterfly, so delicate and intricate, I'm afraid to break it. It looks so fragile.

"Thank you," I whisper, stunned. "It's beautiful."

"Thank _you!_" We all begin to shoot each other questions, from what our favorite color is to who we think our godly parent is. Rose: Pink. Sam: Red. Gene: Purple. Chione: Light Blue. Me: Rainbow…. :) :) Our godly parent… I don't have a clue. Neither do the others though, how funny.

From that point, the day goes by in a whir. Our cabin goes for lunch and afterwards we all walk along the beach, skipping stones and talking about the camp. We go back to the cabin where we play cards and read magazines someone got from Olympus. Of course, we don't understand any of what it talks about. By the time dinner has gone by, we've almost run out of things to discuss. We go to a campfire where we all sing campfire songs. Though I'm mortified when no one knows the lyrics to the "Campfire Song Song." Really, people! I even meet more campers and I feel like things might not be so bad after all. Like maybe I will survive whatever is going on. Everyone is sent back to their cabin and I suddenly realize that I don't feel scared. When I slip into my sleeping bag, the floor doesn't feel so hard anymore. I sleep soundly.

The next weeks go as fast as ever. In the morning I have Greek with Rose, then archery, swimming, defense against monsters, horseback riding (I feed Ricky apples when I can), climbing wall,…etc. I can't believe I make so many friends and I feel as though I'm part of the family. Though the hole in my heart still burns from missing my family. My friends. My old life. But I survive. Things are still fun. I learn that the banana thing was just something made up years and years ago. No one remembers the point behind it, just that if someone yells "Banana" you must get on the ground and put yourself in a position that resembles a banana. You have to stay like that until the person who yells banana, whispers "Split." Weird, right? I guess it's just something fun to do… Don't ask. Seriously, just don't ask.

I am walking through the woods. It's November now. The eleventh. Eleven, Eleven, Eleven… won't have a day like this in a millennium. I don't know how I should make this day last, for a rare day like today. But it's also Veterans Day, so I think of how grateful I am for them. For those who serve our country. I sit on a large rock right next to the river. I hug my jacket close to me, trying to keep warm.

Not making my shoes soaking, I dip the tips of my feet into the water. Watching circles forming but disappear as they are carried away by the flow of the river. The leaves have all fallen, and the cold wind rustles them along. I watch the fish in the river, going slowly, but surely against the strong current. As I breathe, I watch the little white puffs, resembling smoke, appear. Then quickly disappear a couple seconds later. I sit there and throw crackers into the creek. Watching the fish spin towards them and eat them up. I don't know how long I've been sitting there. I see the sun setting through the trees so I get up to leave. I don't want to get lost and if I do, it will be so cold I doubt I'd be able to survive the night.

I walk back through the leaves, weaving between the trees. The wind is really picking up and I look around to see hundreds of tiny leaves falling from them. I begin to run, jumping over logs and ducking over branches. The sun is setting fast, but I can see the lights from the cabins. I finally emerge from the woods, relieved. I begin to walk downward from the hill, the small leaves falling very fast and in great numbers now. Why are there so many of them? I thought all the leaves had fallen from the trees. I run up to the door of my cabin, where it radiates warmth and I can hear the chatter of other campers inside. I turn around to try and catch one of the tiny leaves. I finally do, but it disappears in my hand. But I swore I caught one… There's one right next to my arm and it lands there. It disappears and leaves a little wet spot. I look up and see them all swirling down from the sky. I open my mouth and stick out my tongue. One of them lands on my tongue and melts.

Snow.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys…. Sorry this took so long, I'm having a serious case of writers block!**

**Chapter 8**

**Ophis**

As I sit up in my sleeping bag, I notice a letter on my stomach. I carefully open it, feeling the parchment could rip at the slightest movement. I stare at the scribbled handwriting, trying to decode the message.

_Dear Dahlia Reef,_

_ Lord Dionysus and I would like to interrogate you on your attack exactly four weeks ago. This is very urgent and we need you to report to the Big House as soon as possible. The other gods are here and waiting, I state, this is __very__ urgent. We also need information on your dream, as this may leave clues as to where your attacker is. I'll explain everything when you get here._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Chiron_

What in the world? I read the letter at least twenty times. I slowly get up and I stare at an alarm clock across the room. 6:49 A.M. And it's a Saturday too, where we have a day to do whatever we want. I stare at all the kids around me and wonder how the hades I'm gonna get out of this cabin. I'm as far from the door as you can get! I look down to see Rose, who is peeking out at me from her sleeping bag and smiling. "_Good luck!" _she mouths. Ugh. Come on! I bend down and grab my bag. I can change in the woods, I don't care if it's snowing out there; cuz there is no way I'm getting to the bathroom and back to the door without stepping on someone or waking someone up. Once another kid did that and let's just say he was in the infirmary for a week. I jam my feet in my boots and begin to maneuver and weave between sleeping bags. I start diving over kids and gods knows how I didn't make any noise. I scooted over to the wall and put one foot on the ledge of the window. I then jumped up with the other foot. I began to shimmy along the wall, leaping from one ledge to the other. This was really terrifying and I almost fell about six times. I finally made it to the door and turned to look at the entire interior of the cabin. I stifled a laugh when I saw the footprints on other camper's blankets. I spun back around and opened the door. I jumped outside and shut it, as the piercing November wind flowed right though my clothes. It was still dark out, though the sun just peaking over the lake.

I gazed around at the winter wonderland and started off towards the woods. I walked for a good half mile so that the Stolls didn't tape me changing. Believe me, it's happened to other girls and I'm determined to prevent that type of humiliation. I set my backpack on Zeus' Thumb and started to undress myself. I shivered, my whole body shaking as the snow numbed my feet. "Dahlia, what in the gods' names are you doing?" shrieked a high voice. I spun around, snatching a shirt to cover my bare chest. I sighed in relief, just to see Juniper with a horrified look on her face. "Hey Junie, what's up?" I asked. "What's up?" she says. "I really don't think you should be the one asking that. Why are you changing, in the middle of the woods, in November?"

"Oh, that?" I smile. "I need to go to the Big House and I really don't want to be waking up other campers. You heard what happened to Frankie, right?"

"Ugh, yeah!"

"So there's my point."

"Wow Dahlia, just… Wow. Whatever, I'm going back to sleep." She walked directly into a tree and melted into it. I continued to change and finally put on my warm coat and boots. I then slowly waltzed back to the camp. I ran down the hill to the Big House, where all the lights were on and there was a soft chatter.

I knocked on the door, only to be greeted by Chiron. He had a grave look on his face. "Come in Dahlia, we've been waiting." I slowly entered, and Chiron wasn't lying, there were the gods. They looked awfully strange, sitting scrunched together on old, small couches. Although there was one man who was sitting in Mr. D's big recliner. I recognized him immediately as Zeus….Holy crap, I'm in trouble. "Dahlia," he says in a harsh tone. "Come and sit with us." I stumbled to the chairs, bowing to Zeus and sitting on a small couch, to be accompanied by Mr. D and Lady Hera. She reeked of perfume. Like if a truck full of Bath and Body Works exploded, and you were the driver. Hera gave me a fake smile and nodded at Zeus. "Dahlia, we have some questions for you. We know you've given Chiron the whole story, and about your dream, but we must know more. So. What exactly did he look like?" I tried to arrange my thoughts. Why did they need this information? "Well," I started slowly. "He had a human body, but was entirely covered in scales." Hermes pulled out a notepad and begins scribbling furiously. "His eyes were red, and he was completely bald. I don't think he had legs, I think the end of his body was a tail, I mean, like the lower half of a snake. When he was about to kill, maybe eat, me, his jaw totally unhinged." I shivered at the horrifying memory. "Well, in your dream, what did he look like?" Athena asked.

"In my dream, he didn't have an exact form. Just these black hands, coming from the woods to grab Morgan. Then from the ground, taking my friends away." By the end of the sentence I was struggling for my voice not to break. "In the dream," Artemis started. "I understand everything turned black?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Well Dahlia," says Ares. "Ophis, the creature who was attempting to kill you, is extremely dangerous. We have been trying to capture and destroy him for millennia. He kills demi-gods for a living, but not like other monsters. It's his power source. He lives off of your souls. Though he's been hungry lately, needing more now than ever. We need to seize this moment; we need to kill him **now**." His voice was growing louder and louder each word.

"We have made a prediction," croaks Demeter. "That he will attack Camp Half-Blood very soon."

"Any day now," says Poseidon. "He will come, and he is furious that I saved you. You will be his first kill."

"We are planning preparation for this camp," starts Athena. "We are doing whatever we can to stop Ophis and keep as many of you alive as we can."

"What did he say to you when he captured you?" Apollo questioned.

"Well, he said 'I've had to put up real fights against other demi-gods, you must be a weakling' and 'The gods can do better than tha-" I abruptly stopped. That's when it hit me. My father is in this room. "Which one of you…?" I whispered. Everyone was silent. The only noise is of Hermes's pen, inscribing information. This seems awkward; no one is giving me an answer. Unless… do they not know who my father is? Am I like those other campers in the Hermes cabin, forever without an official parent?

Then, ever so steadily, Poseidon raised his hand. "It's me," he said gruffly. Well. There's my answer. "That's how I was able to save you. You're thirteen; you should've been in this camp already, so I came to get you. I saw you. I was on the rooftops when I saw you being followed by Ophis. But… I'm ashamed to say I didn't help you because… I wanted to see what you could do. How a daughter of Poseidon would handle the situation. Sort of like a little…test." Oh, okay. So I he was his experiment, that seems reasonable…NOT. "But," he continued. "When I saw him, grab you, take you away... I had to take action. He's fast though, _really_ fast. So it was too late, he already threw you into the window. That's when I came, I transported into the shed and I saw you on the ground. Your arm broken. Blood flowing from your head. I must say, I was… disappointed." Right now, I should be upset with myself; my father is saying he's disappointed in me. But…. I'm not. I honestly couldn't care less. What, did he expect me to be growing up throwing knives at trees in my backyard? No. I spent my life at home horseback riding, hanging out with friends, and swimming. Sweet and simple.

"When Ophis saw me appear," Poseidon began again. "He became shaken. Starting a speech about how he had become stronger, how he would overthrow Olympus. But he disappeared then, just… gone. So, that was it. I picked you up and brought you here. I dropped you off outside of the door with a note and… I left. I couldn't stay for long; I had to see the other gods. But… your ability to ride horses so well, to be such a fast swimmer…. It came from _me_. You're all of those things because of _me_."

"No," I said flatly. Poseidon and the others seemed taken aback. What? A mortal questioning _them_? Haha, yeah, get used to it. "I'm not good at any of those things because of _you_," I spat. "I'm those things because I work hard. The first time I approached a horse, it grabbed me by the hair and threw me. When I first joined swim club, I was the only ten-year-old in the lowest group. But guess what? I worked hard. It took me about a year before I gained the courage to approach another horse. Though I did it. I began riding horses all the time. It took me years before I was able to ride for hours around the woods without falling off. Oh, and swimming? It's been four years, and I'm in the highest group now. Not because I'm your daughter, but because I. Worked. Hard." I coldly stared at Poseidon. Take that.

"Well," he says. "Okay then. If that's what you think, well then, that's what happened."

"Thank you," I say, straightening myself in the chair.

"Brethren," Zeus thunders. "I believe we've gotten all the information we need. Tomorrow, we shall begin training the campers. We will all stay in our cabin, as in, our children's cabin. Maybe we need to… catch up with them." Holy crap, was Zeus really saying this? "Father," Artemis speaks up. "May I….?" Zeus' face darkened. "Yes." What were they talking about? "Oh, Lord Zeus!" Aphrodite protested. "Come _on!_ I refuse to let her take another girl! They need something called… LOVE!" Zeus looked at her like he heard this kind of thing all the time. "Let's go," he said stiffly. Everyone began to get up, Aphrodite pouting like a little girl. Then, she turned to me. "Don't. Do. It." She says flatly. Everyone quickly began to flood out of the doors. Well, then. Another thing I don't know what people are talking about. I am the last person to head to the door when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see Artemis, her eyes piercing into me.

"Sit down, Dahlia," she whispers. I do what she asks and I suddenly realize that Grover was right about my vision. I was going to see her very soon. Artemis sat across from me when suddenly; she turned into a twelve-year-old girl. Suddenly, other girls around my age started appearing in the room, looking confused and bewildered. I then see Thalia, the girl who said I looked like garbage… Haha, that's a good one, I need to use that sometime. "Lady Artemis," Thalia says urgently. "What's wrong? Are we…." Oh my god. Is what I think is going on really happening? Is this why Aphrodite told me to, '_Don't do it'_.

"Yes," Artemis whispered. All the girls began to sit down. I was then pushed to the middle of the loveseat when to girls plopped down on both sides of me, glowing with smiles. They both grabbed my hands, not in a hostile way, but in a symbol of…. Friendship you could say. "Dahlia Reef," Artemis announced. "Will you join the Hunt?" Oh my god.

**I guess you could say this is a cliff hanger…. Dun, dun, dun!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Omg, so I finally updated. I'm so sorry; there is absolutely no reason why I should've been taking so long, it's fully my responsibility. But to somewhat make it up to you, I'm going to add a chapter tonight and one very soon! Like, two days later soon! Well, I know I left off with a cliffie, but here is the answer! Oh, and Jacen is not the same guy as Jason Grace. Two. Different. People.**

**Chapter 9**

**Claiming**

My stomach feels like it just jumped off a cliff and flipped inside out. Even I could feel my face turning as white as a ghost. I stared into the goddess' silver eyes, watching as they turned from intense to kind and warm.

"Dahlia," Artemis says. "I know now isn't the best time, but we need you. We need as many huntresses as we can if we take part in this war. If we lose too many of my precious girls, we might not even have enough to continue the hunt."

I think about joining the Hunt. Of course I know what comes with it. Eternal maidenhood, immortality…. Hanging out with girls for the rest of eternity seemed pretty cool, but I was frozen with the idea of watching my beloved friends die while I never aged.

I could feel the papery skin of the two girls on either side of me, who were holding my hands. They lean in so close to my ears I just barely feel their lips. "We like you," whispers the girls on the left.

"We really do," says the other on the right.

I gaze at each of the hunters, with beautiful leaves in their hair and short white tunics. I stop and stare at Thalia, who mouths the word '_Please'_. I'm torn. I don't know what to do, this is a life changing decision…

"Do you like boys?" a girl with red hair speaks up.

I gasp in shock but ponder the question, trying to remember if I did. There was one boy back at home, but I didn't even know how I felt about him. I had been having an internal conflict of my feelings for him for quite a while. He is so nice to me. Quite a lovely person-never did wrong. But he was a grade ahead of me, so I sort of knew that any other gorgeous eight grade girl would have better chances than me. Me. The 'ugly' girl. Or my nickname at school, "Flat Chested Freak". I mean I don't care what they think; I only care of what I think of myself. I try to stay confident; remind myself that I _am_ beautiful in my own way. But sometimes I doubted myself, wondering if it is true, that I won't be loved. Well…. It's not like he'd ever be mine.

"No," I reply. "I don't like boys. In the end, they're only going to hold me back." I then turned to Artemis.

"I accept your request," I say with determination. "And join the hunt."

Artemis' smile is so big that I can't help grinning myself. The girls beside me hug me so tight I almost can't breathe, but I don't care, for excitement is surging through me. Hunters are giggling so much I'm afraid they might have a heart attack, and they look at me a different way. No more cold stares- but warmth towards me with every blink.

Artemis straightened up, "Are you ready?"

"Of course," I state, feeling more adrenaline surge through my veins.

"Repeat after me," my master begins. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

I breathe in deeply. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt."

"I turn my back…. On the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood," I stammer. I then stopped. It seemed like the last four words were stuck in the back of my throat. I must do this. I look Artemis right in the eye, seeing encouragement for me to say the last words.

"And join the Hunt," I proclaim. After that, things went in a blur. Electricity crackled through my veins and it felt as if cold water was being dumped on me. My drowsiness from the day was wiped away and I felt amazing. I leap up and girls from the Hunt are hugging me, congratulating me. But celebrating stops when we here a conch shell, calling us to the dining pavilion. Artemis' head snapped toward the window and she looks like she's hearing something we can't. She turns to us with a look of extreme annoyance. "Well ladies," she sighs. "Looks like we have to celebrate later. They're gathering everyone because apparently the gods didn't do their job by claiming their kids. But since everyone's here tonight, they want to get it over with and claim them."

I was a bit surprised and excited. That meant Chione, Rose, Sam, Gene, and so many others will finally be able to get some space and they're own bed instead of the floor.

The Hunters and I bounded down the field towards the pavilion, but not before giving me a backpack full of hunting gear and clothing. We all made our way to our table and I could see people staring and whispering as we sat down. Once everyone was settled, Chiron made his way to the front of the pavilion. "Well ladies and gentlemen, you all know why you're here. The gods," Chiron gestured to them standing beside him. "Are here to claim you tonight. Let us begin." A wave of excitement rolls over everyone, and I'm excited myself.

First, Zeus steps forward, for he is Cabin One. He begins a long list of people I don't even know, and with each name, Hera looks more and more like she smells a stink bomb. Also, as every name went off, each kid would be surrounded by spider webs of lightning. Suddenly, there was a shock of thunder and a blinding light. Everyone screamed but when everyone was able to see again, the children of Zeus were covered in jumpsuits that crackled with electricity. They're hair was flowing in the wind… but there was no wind. They looked amazing. No need to show off Zeus.

Next, Poseidon steps forward, for he is Cabin Three and Hera doesn't have affairs. He starts searching the crowd for me when he sees me and smiles. "Young campers!" he laughs. "If you think the children of Zeus look good, just wait! I have but one child to present to you tonight. Dahlia Reef!" He points directly at me and I can feel everyone staring. And right when I think I'm okay and I can stop being embarrassed...I hear…. A bubbling noise….? I look down to see water gurgling out of a crack in the marble. It streams up around me and swirls above me. My vision is blurred as a gush of water falls on top of me. Good thing: I'm not wet. Bad thing: my hair now is in cascading curls, covered in sea shells and pearls. I look down in horror at what I'm wearing. My dirty sweatshirt and clothes are now replaced with a strapless aqua dress. It flows down to my feet and there are seashells around the perimeter under my chest. My shoes were gone too. I looked up to see Aphrodite smiling like a madwoman, everyone staring at me, and goose bumps forming over my pale skin.

"Oh!" Aphrodite squealed. "She's drop dead gorgeous! Though she looks beautiful, just see my children! Hahahahaha!" Aphrodite raised her hands to claim her children, but Hera pushed her, breaking her concentration.

"Everyone stop!" Hera bellowed. "This isn't a fashion show for gods' sakes! Look at Dahlia, she's gonna get hypothermia in that dress! Those _creatures_ of Zeus are gonna catch that table on fire if you don't get that electricity off of them!" Aphrodite pouted while Zeus and Poseidon argued over whose child looked better. Even the tables did start to smoke a little bit, and I would've actually caught hypothermia if I didn't have my new coat in my bag.

After that incident, things went by fast without the whole outfit transforming junk. Jacen got some new brothers and sisters in Athena Cabin, so that was pretty cool. Jacen… There's something that's bothering me. Something about Jacen that's an issue. It's on the tip of my tongue but I can't think of it… oh well, I'll figure it out. Rose got claimed by Hephaestus- well there's a surprise. She also has four other new siblings. Sam got claimed by Apollo, which also wasn't too startling. Gene was claimed by Dionysus but when he said her name, he mispronounced it. I couldn't tell if it was on purpose though or if he was just heavily intoxicated. Go figure.

Though there weren't any kids added to some of the cabins, there was a large amount of kids who were piled into single cabins at a time. There are now 13 kids in Hecate, 27 in Aphrodite, 9 in Demeter, 6 in Zeus (yeah, Hera's not too happy), and so many other weird numbers like that. Even that kid Nico in the Hades Cabin got an older brother. I'm happy for him. His sister, Bianca di Angelo, was killed in battle against a huge machine on a quest a couple of years ago. I heard she was all Nico had left. But then she joined the Hunt, like I did, and left his brother to stay at Camp Half-Blood. But Bianca di Angelo died only a couple weeks later. When I heard this story from Annabeth, I'm not going to lie; I was a little mad Bianca would do such a thing to her own brother. But I guess I understand that she just wanted people to talk to besides her brother. I think I get that. Although, when Nico heard what had happened to his sister, he summoned the dead right here in the pavilion. That's why this crack is across the floor. That's when he learned he was son of Hades- God of the Underworld. He had no other siblings in that cabin, but now, he has an older brother to look up to. To share his life with. So tonight was pretty interesting.

Oh, and then there was Chione. Though her mother wasn't there, she was still claimed. Claimed by Khione-Goddess of snow. Daughter of Boreas, the Master of the North Wind. She was named after her mother, they just spelled her name a different way. When Chione is claimed, she looks frozen solid. Her skin turns a pale blue and her hair covers with frost. But then she exhales and relaxes, her skin tone and hair go back to normal. I never thought of her as a child of Khione, goddess of snow. But I can think back to days ago when the first freezing wind came across the camp, Chione became different. She was so anxious, checking the weather every five minutes. Checking for snow. And now she is so happy. So energetic.

After everyone was sorted through, we were dispersed. While the Hunters went back to our cabin, I left to the forest for a walk. I hugged my jacket close to me as the winter breeze pierced through my thin dress. I walked and walked for about fifteen minutes, whistling to the snowy owls as they whistled back.

I stopped at Zeus' Thumb when I heard other footsteps trudging through the snow. I spun around the giant rock and tried to look out. With Ophis returning, there could be an enemy. My breath quickened and I could almost hear my thumping heart as the frequent noise of footsteps grew louder and louder. But I couldn't see anyone appear from the trees. The snow was slippery and I clung to the rock, trying not to fall down. I reached for my bow and arrows when I felt arms grab my waist from behind and pull me back. I fell down screaming and thrashing. I felt a hand cover my mouth and the other cover my eyes. I could feel that I was lying on top of someone's chest and they were not letting go. I then heard wicked laughing and when the hands let go of me I sprang up and was mortified by what I saw.

_How dare he?_

**Uhh… dun dun dun! The next chapter will come out sometime soon, so be sure to look out! And the final battle is approaching, the army of Ophis is coming, whether we like it or not. There are surprises in store for the last chapters of Going Down. The question is, how will it end. So if you review, I want you to maybe answer two questions.**

**Who tackled Dahlia? Could it have been Ophis? Or a trickster? Or a traitor?**

**How will it end? I mean, how will Dahlia's adventure end? Will she have a happy ending, or will there be devastation for Camp Half-Blood?**


	10. Update

**Update**

Hey guys, this isn't chapter ten, but have like, 700 words to go. I'm so close to finishing. I just want to apologize for how long this took, my flash drive completely wiped out and I didn't get a new won for a while because my mom was too busy to take me out to get one and then I had to start all over.

So in the next couple chapters, there's going to be quite a bit of drama. People will be hurt and friends will be torn apart. And this army will bring…. Death. It is not going to be good. There is going to be much preparation for the war, and the war itself will shatter Dahlia's mind. She will see things that will leave her scarred, if she even makes it out alive. Sacrifices must be made.

Please guys, review. I'm kind of thinking that no one's reading my story anymore; it's sorta bringing me down. I just don't want to write a story if no one even cares. I put a lot of effort into every story, and I just need some sort of response. A review would be so spirit-lifting, and I swear, I'll try harder to post my chapters faster. Well, that's pretty much it. Bye Guys.


	11. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter like I promised. Thanks for informing me that it's Zeus' Fist, not thumb. I feel so stupid.**

**Chapter 10**

**The Prophecy**

I stared at the grinning boy on the ground before me, mortified by his actions. He chuckled and I held out my hand to help him up. Once my attacker got up we both glared at each other, but ended up roaring in laughter.

"Why did you do that?" I squealed, lightly pushing Jacen.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He barely breathed out, for he was laughing like a hyena. "It's just that you were _right there_ and I couldn't resist! I couldn't help myself!" I put on a really hurt face and Jacen stopped immediately. "Dahlia?" Jacen asked. "I'm sorry, I really am."

I glared at him and pretended to tear up. "It's okay," I whispered and Jacen pulled me in for a hug. For a kid of Athena, he really didn't know how to tell when someone was planning something. I held him tight with one hand, and with the other, I grabbed a bunch of snow from the top of a bush behind Jacen. I took the huge glob and smashed it against his head.

"Ha!" I screamed in delight as he recoiled backwards and tried to get the snow of the back of his neck. "That's what you get for sneaking up on me like that!" Jacen was smiling like a madman when he grabbed snow from the ground and threw it at me squarely in the chest. We began running around the small clearing, hiding behind Zeus' Fist and jumping over the frozen stream as we chucked snowballs at each other.

When I become tired, I plop backward onto the snow, staring at the ice sky. Jacen walks next to me and falls right next to me. We're both panting, taking advantage of our break from our snowball fight.

"You know what, Dahlia?" Jacen says. "I think you're my bestest friend." I smile, feeling snowflakes kiss my forehead. "You know what, Jacen?" I mimic. "I think you're my bestest friend too."

"Jacen, why weren't you at the claiming ceremony?" I ask curiously.

"Oh," Jacen starts. "Chiron wanted me to find some information about Ophis. It might help us when his army attacks. I was looking through the cabin bookshelves when I heard the conch shell, but I ignored it."

"Well, did you find anything good? Anything that can help us defeat him?"

"I found some really good info to help us. I learned that snakes are allergic to titanium, and can be killed with titanium weapons. If you hit a snake on the back of the head or step on their tale, they will also be knocked unconscious. They're also terrified of fire. It might not work with Ophis, what with him being a super-snakey-monster, but it could just make all the difference."

I'm elated by the news. Ever since I was attacked by Ophis, I was worried sick about how he'd be destroyed. I just knew that he'd have to be killed, the guy ate demi-gods his whole life! But now, we have some sort of start. Some way that we can beat him.

"You know Jacen," I sigh. "You have some new siblings."

"What?" he jerked, sitting upright and staring at me. But then a true look of happiness overcame his face. "I have a new brother and sister?"

"Yup. You've got quite a few, actually."

"Wow," he sighed dreamily and fell back down next to me. "That's truly wonderful."

I turn towards Jacen, leaning on my elbow. I trace little pictures in the snow next to him, when I hear him sigh.

"Dahlia?" he gulps. I look at his expression and it looks like he's seriously scared about something. Nervous about how he says his next words.

"What is it?" I ask, a little frightened by the look on his face.

"Dahlia, I've wanted to tell you… but I think I finally have the courage to." I breathe in deeply, trying to decipher what he possibly means. Jacen turns toward me and leans on his elbow too, staring into my eyes.

"Dahlia, I've known you for quite a while now and… well…"  
>"C'mon Jacen, spit it out. You can tell me anything." Jacen exhaled deeply and glared at me head on.<p>

"Dahlia, I'm pretty sure that I'm in love with you."

I barely had time to process what he had just said when he smashes his lips against mine. For a moment, I'm just plain out confused, and flattered by this. No boy ever said he liked me before. I felt Jacen's hand cup my face when I knew what I was trying to remember about him earlier. _"It's okay; I think he just likes you. That's all,"_ I hear Rose's voice giggle. In half a second, I feel power coursing through my veins and I feel like I could lift a mountain. Anger fills my vision and I see red as I lift Jacen off of me and push him back with an incredible force. I can only see the look of true confusion on his face for a moment when he is thrown backwards through the snow and slams into a tree.

I'm breathing deeply and I feel absolutely dreadful of what I've done. But when I see Jacen emerge from behind the tree, with a look of deep sadness on his face, I totally lose it.

"_Why_?" I screech, tears flooding my vision. I feel absolutely furious; I swear I'm seeing red.

"What was that for?" Jacen screamed, throwing his hands in the air. "If you didn't want to kiss me, you could've just stopped me instead of throwing me halfway across a field!"

I'm frozen on the spot, in complete hysterics.

"You don't understand, do you?" I weep. "You don't understand…."

"What is it?" Jacen yelled, slamming his hand on Zeus' Thumb.

"Artemis asked me to join the hunt, and I accepted, that's what! And it's been only an hour and I've already broken the vow!" I collapse on the ground, totally shaking uncontrollably.

"But how was I supposed to know?" Jacen choked, tears flooding down his eyes.

"I'm sorry, okay! I lost complete control of myself!" I look up at Jacen, and he looks shaken from head to toe. But then we both stay as still as statues, quiet and just staring into each other's eyes. Both of us thinking how to dig ourselves out of this fight.

"But, Dahlia, it's not like you kissed me back," Jacen whispered now. "I'm sure Artemis will understand. "

"I hope," I choked. "But I can't be sure."

"Dahlia, if you weren't in the Hunt though…. And this incident happened…."

"No, Jacen. I'm sorry, I truly am, but I don't like you that way. I just don't, I can't." I feel horrific, like my stomach is being gutted out. Jacen's face is pure white and sickly, just staring straight into nothingness. He looks almost like he's been electrocuted. But I didn't ever like him, I really didn't. Sure, I thought he was kind of cute when I first saw him, but I didn't _like_ like him, not at all. I don't know how things will be the same between us. How we could ever be friends the same way we were before? It would be too awkward, too strange. But we were best friends… and I have to get through this.

I shakily stand up and walk straight towards Jacen. We both stare into each other's eyes full on, not saying a word. His are misty, and I can tell he's apologizing. I am too. We both hug and I pull back again and walk deeper into the woods, leaving him behind.

That's when I find it. The oracle's home. Everyone always talked about it, so how could I not be curious? I had searched for it many times, but I finally find it. I didn't mean to. I was just walking, trying to run away from what had just happened.

I approach the cave and stop right before the dirty curtain. I want to pull it back, to talk to the oracle. I want some idea on when Ophis will come; it would be any day now. But if we were to form a plan, we need an exact date. Though I'm terrified. Would she be old and wrinkly and ugly? Would her body be of decay, how old is she? Is she dead? Is she even here? Or was the oracle out and about?

"H-Hello?" I asked shakily.

There was no response, just the rattling of trees. _Oh well_, I thought. _Guess I'll just be on my merry way_. I begin to walk away when a horrible ripping noise is made. I spin around to see the curtain torn to the ground and an older teenage girl standing straight up with a look of agony on her face. She isn't as scary as I thought she'd be. I thought Rachel Elizabeth Dare would be like a zombie. But her red hair glistened in the sun and she might've been pretty if she didn't look like she was about to hurl. That's when the green smoke began to coil from her mouth like a snake, covering the melting snow.

"I'm terribly sorry!" I squeaked, slowly backing away. "I didn't mean to bother you!"

The green smoke rose around me, taking the shape of human bodies. Their features slowly formed and they all surrounded me. I was already terrified when a shock of realization punches me in the gut. These aren't any people. These are my friends from back home, from the swim team. A feel like I'm going to vomit, I haven't seen them in so long. I want to hug them all, know that they are really there.

But they're not. I slowly turn, studying each of their ghostly faces. I try to choke back a sob, for I've cried enough today. But I feel a flood of dread as I touch my friend Morgan's face, the one who was first taken by the black hand, only to feel right through her head. My friend's mouths unhinge, and they speak in unison. But it's not their voice, for it sound like nails on a chalkboard.

_The evil snake king has risen again,_

_Killing all under Gaea's hand._

_A child of the water must sacrifice,_

_With a single chance to save more than one life._

**(A/N ya, I know, not the best prophecy. But I had to make **_**something**_**!)**

At the last word, my ghost friends vaporized into nothingness. "No!" I scream. "Come back, I need you guys!"

"What in the world?" a soft voice whispered. I turn around to see Rachel slowly getting up, a look of utter confusion on her face. "It happened again, didn't it?"

"Yeah," I say, my voice shaking.

"Oh gods," she muttered. "This is not good, this is not good…."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But I fear that you are in extreme danger. Come, we must talk."

She beckoned me towards her cave and I entered, feeling as though the world was falling down. Twice in one day now I've been lectured on how my life is in danger.

_A child of the water must sacrifice_. Yeah, I wonder who that was.

**So, this is chapter is finally done! Yay! Please review! I'm sorry for any mistakes I might have made in this, I was in a rush!**


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